Call for global standard on car salvage

There should be a global standard for vehicle salvage to stop scrapped and unsafe cars returning to the roads thats the opinion of online car salvage auction business Bluecycle.

In a speech to be given to the Automotive Recycling Associations annual convention in America later this month, Andy Latham, Bluecycles reputation manager, will call for a global code of practice for the disposal of car salvage and re-use of parts.

He believes that the rising costs and complexity of vehicle repairs means that its possible that more unsafe cars will be sold across international borders unless such a code is established.

Vehicle salvage has global reach now, he said, but there are differing standards of repair and legislation regarding recycled or green parts, not to mention a severe shortage of information exchange and documentation control.

Continuing technical advances are making vehicle repair much harder and more expensive, and this has the potential for sub-standard repair and fraud to increase on a global scale unless collective measures are taken to address these issues.

Earlier this year, Bluecycle called on the UK Government to step up local enforcement of the European End of Life Vehicles directive. The organisation claimed that up to a million vehicles were avoiding destruction illegally each year in the UK, because of a shortage of funds to enforce the legislation.

Latham said: Something like 50% of vehicles scrapped dont get a Certificate of Destruction. These cars are quite literally coming back from the dead.

Bluecycle is a leading online auction business, specialising in automotive and commercial plant salvage.